OVAPA - Though it sits quietly in the backwoods of Clay County, Sugar Bottom Farm is creating quite the buzz.
Literally.
The farm is home to a garden full of broccoli and other vegetables and free-range chickens, but according to owner Eric Grandon, its millions of honey bees are doing all of the work.
Grandon sells honey bees and teaches introduction to beekeeping classes on the farm, but for him, it's not just a business, it's what saved his life.
The beekeeper served six tours with the U.S. Army in the Middle East.
Like many veterans returning from combat, he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder from his time in Operation Desert Storm.
"Bees can sense anxiety, and PTSD is an anxiety disorder," Grandon said. "So if I come in here being anxious, they're going to protect themselves and sting me."
However, he said there's something soothing about beekeeping for him. When he has his hands in the hives, he's calm and focused.
"It's just a break," Grandon said. "Some people use drugs, some people use alcohol. I use bees and broccoli."
Grandon found beekeeping through Veterans and Warriors to Agriculture, a program developed in 2013 by Mason County resident and retired Capt. James McCormick.
"Anything to help our veterans, I feel like is part of what I owe," McCormick said. "No matter how many medals you get, no matter how many accolades you get, there's nothing like helping your fellow human beings."
McCormick, owner of Raising Cane Farms, in New Haven, is a retired wounded veteran who served in two combat tours with the U.S. Army in Iraq.
He experienced firsthand how farming can be therapeutic for a veteran by producing his own garden. Soon he wanted to use his experience to help others.
McCormick first introduced Grandon to farming in 2013 with a crop of sorghum, before Grandon found apiculture - the practice of keeping bees - through other veterans who were also part of the program.
Grandon is now one of eight farmers who credits the Veterans and Warriors to Agriculture program for saving his life.
"Even if all we do is help eight people take the thought of suicide off their mind and possibly help guide them in a better direction, then that alone has great value to us as a society," McCormick said.
"When you take that person and totally transform their life to show them how to create a business, how to be successful, then stay with them the course, that is a whole different thing," he said. "That is what we really need."
With recognition by the Department of Agriculture, Veterans and Warriors to Agriculture has grown into a brand, with its own curriculum and staff.
Grandon, along with fellow veteran apiaries and farmers, teaches classes for free.
He said he sees it as a service to give back and help people the way beekeeping has helped him and his fellow veterans, and he plans to turn one of his spare barns into a beekeeping classroom.
Sugar Bottom Farm has turned into a family affair, where Grandon not only raises bees, he grows a variety of vegetables and fruits and raises chickens with the help of his family.
The farm now sells produce to local schools through the USDA's Farm to School program.
"Before four years ago, I had never farmed or even raised a garden, but when I started this, it gave me focus again, it gave me purpose," Grandon said.
Grandon's wife, Mary, and his 7-year-old daughter, Abigail, are members of the farm, too. His brother, Bill Grandon, is also a helping hand.
"It's bringing my brother back the way I remember my brother to be, and we get to spend a lot of time together," Bill Grandon said.
Mary Grandon is a full-time physician's assistant and primarily cares for the garden, but Abigail has a special love for the bees.
She has her own little beekeeping suit, but she will not hesitate to run around the hives in shorts and a T-shirt like her dad.
"When they sting you, it only hurts for a little while," Abigail said.
She is just as eager as Eric Grandon to educate those who would like to learn about the bees.
Eric and Mary Grandon pay Abigail for her work on the farm, and she sells flowers from her personal garden.
The family also has the support of fellow beekeepers.
Last June, when floods ravaged through Southern West Virginia, Eric Grandon lost all of his hives and bees.
"It was heartbreaking. I just realized last year that it was my therapy - the bees," Eric Grandon said. "When that all washed away, I went into a deep depression."
With the help of his beekeeping mentor, Ed Forney, of Geezer Ridge Farm, in Hedgesville, Eric Grandon was able to replace all 18 of his hives by August.
He received more than 20 new hives from Mann Lake, a beekeeping supply company in Minnesota, 18 honey bee packages from Wilbanks Apiaries, in Georgia, and 18 honey bee queens from Olivarez Honeybees, in California.
From those 18 hives in August 2016, Eric Grandon has grown to well over 100. By next year, he said he hopes to grow to nearly 200 production hives and more than 50 honey hives.
Now, Eric Grandon said business is booming.
He receives several calls and visits a day from those interested in learning about beekeeping or purchasing supplies.
Eric Grandon finally opened a one-stop shop for everything honey bees, where he sells live bees - including queens - equipment and, of course, advertises his free training.
Still, he said it makes him happy just to see the bees make someone else happy.
"I want people to succeed," Eric Grandon said. "I sell the stuff, but I'd much rather not. I'd much rather see a bunch of happy beekeepers."
Eric Grandon is now starting an adopt-a-hive program for those who are unsure about beekeeping, cannot have them where they live or would just like to try it. His free training is available not only to veterans, but to anyone interested in keeping bees.
Those interested or just curious about beekeeping can reach Eric Grandon through his Sugar Bottom Farm Facebook page or by email at egrandon@frontier.com.
Reach Jennifer Gardner at jennifer.gardner@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1230 or follow @jenncgardner on Twitter.